Sonus faber hand crafted loudspeakers from Italy. To be a Sonus faber reseller is a pleasure and a privilege – for us at Totally Wired, Sonus faber embody all the good qualities of audio which bought us to the business in the first instance. A conscious choice to place quality before quantity. Faultless workmanship combined with originality of thought & design.
The disregard for conventional commercial criteria make Sonus faber more than just a brand for us. With Sonus faber loudspeakers, it’s all about music and relationships. To become a Sonus faber owner is to bypass the bloodless pursuit of the technical and become immersed in the emotional pleasures of music.
Why fight Music? The Sonus faber philosophy
As we see it, Sonus faber are one of the very few loudspeaker designers to work with music rather than against it. Consider this – the characteristics that separate the sound of a basic violin from that of a treasured heirloom instrument are there for anyone to hear – the tonality, precision, resonance and warmth are readily apparent. The same applies to any musical instrument used in performance – and this is by no means the exclusive province of Classical music – the qualities we associate with voice, drums or electric guitar are all defined by tone and resonance. With any instrument these qualities are direct reflections of the materials and craftsmanship used (with a human voice we may assume a higher source but the same physical principles apply.) So why fight resonance and by implication other musical qualities when designing loudspeakers – for speakers are simply musical instruments we play with a HiFi system. If this makes sense to you, then we are speaking the same language.
But for the technically literate we have to point out that Sonus faber designs can more than compete on a specification level. If you choose to harness music to work for you, rather than devote design resources to eliminating character, then aspects such as phase coherence, frequency response and dispersion become tools with which to produce better sound. Everything happens for a reason and in the physical world you can measure it – you just have to know what to look for and what is actually important!
And much of that judgement comes down to experience and intellect. Sonus faber are a brand able to stand on the performance and quality of their products – no sexist advertising, no mass market-a-pair-in-every-home aspirations.
Although a speaker can contain the most sophisticated of electronic components, it’s timbre can only be determined through listening. Sonus faber’s unique philosophy based on the craftsmanship of musical instruments is that a loudspeaker is, in a sense, a musical container like the body of a violin. Traditional hand crafted cabinets are therefore at the heart of the design. Sonus faber put more soul into their smallest speaker than most companies can muster in their entire range. Resolutely handmade in relatively small quantities, by a family (in that special Italian sense), all Sonus faber speakers feature the finest European components nested in a cabinet of selected solid timber with not a veneer in sight.
For Sonus faber there is one very simple principle – the loudspeaker is an instrument to play music. And like any other handcrafted instrument, it follows that the materials used and quality of craftsmanship will have a direct bearing on the sound produced. Sonus faber don’t waste time fighting resonance (and by implication music), they simply employ it to further their pursuit of more enjoyable sound.
So you’ll understand, that the sound of any Sonus faber speaker will reflect this approach. Nothing else has quite the richness, especially when it comes to vocals and stringed instruments. You may well think that this would confine their talents to the realm of classical music – in fact, this richness and generosity of tone works wonders with just about any recording, making the previously mundane suddenly listenable and the well recorded simply sublime.
The new Sonus faber Sonetto range 
The Sonnetto range is fully made in Italy at the Sonus faber factory. The tweeter and midranged drivers – the ‘voice’ of Sonus faber are directly derived from the much more costly models and give the Sonettos an unparalleled level of clarity and presence that we’ve simply never had before at this price level.
The collection includes floor-standing, and bookshelf loudspeakers as well as center channel and on-wall options. The Sonetto VIII at the top of this particular range is a big speaker by any standards and echos Sonus faber’s flagship models – the Aida and Lilim and Il Cremonese. The VIII also features 3 large and powerful metal coned bass drivers in a downwardly ported cabinet of substantial dimensions and weight. As you might imagine, this is a speaker for larger rooms that is going to capture the scale and volume of live performance in a way that smaller stand mount speakers never can.
In our review of the smaller Sonetto III floorstanders read why we find the Sonettos so alluring. “They carry emotion in a way I’ve seldom heard and in many ways are the best I’ve personally experienced. For some people it will be the attraction of the brand, for others the individual aesthetic, the sound we have described, or a mixture of all three that will lead to the choice of Sonetto.” Read more.
The Chameleon collection is being replaced by the Sonetto range. But as we make this transition we’ve got a brilliant special going on the big floor-standing Chameleon T with a choice of both walnut and Italian racing red side panels.
Originally $5000 the pair (or $6000 for the walnut option) we have the last two pairs for $2700 and $3000 respectively. This looks even better when you see the most compact Sonetto floor stander – the III – will come in at $7000.
The Chameleon T is a wonderfully generous and smooth sounding speaker that, despite the large port – never sounds overly heavy. But it can still be a whole lot of fun – it’s the perfect model to introduce yourself to the Sonus faber magic with.
Of all the Sonus faber models, these are the ones I want for myself – having experienced the earlier version, I’ve retained a clear memory of their unique sound. While two versions of the Cremona Auditor and the subsequent Olympica I have built upon this heritage, there is just something about this design with the larger bass driver and beautifully finished cabinet (yes – that’s Italian Carrara marble on the base and stands) that pulls at my heartstrings. These speakers will come in between the Olympica 1 and Guarneri Tradition. Expected NZ$ price is $18,000 the pair with stands included. Immerse yourself in Sonus faber’s own page here.
35 years ago Sonus faber was founded by Franco Serblin. His passion is ‘to model wood on waves of music, transforming the speaker into a musical instrument’. Hence the development of these extraordinarily beautiful speakers with sound that is captivating listeners all around the world. Sonus fabers standard of excellence is firmly rooted in old world craftsmanship. They manufacture articles of surpassing beauty employing highly technical processes, but remain dedicated to the understanding that man and his work will always remain the protagonist.
